The US Army is about to roll out these six-wheeled vehicles that may be the granddaddies of all of our robot overlords of the future. All the army's bots up until now have been larger-scale versions of radio-controlled model cars, but the army's injecting these bots' souls with autonomy, giving them GPS points and then setting them free to move between them, and even teaching them to eventually lay waste to all in their path.

The Multifunction Utility Logistics and Equipment (MULE) vehicle pictured at left will be packing iron, too, loaded with two 7.62mm machine guns and a couple of serious anti-tank missiles. Not content with that, the army has put together an even bigger bot (pictured at right), a six-ton version that can open up an even huger can of whoop-ass. Hey, soldier boy geeks: just make sure you teach these hefty hunks of steaming junk the three laws of robotics. – Charlie White